Hell, I knew what I was. Loula Mae Fontaine: daughter of the town’s dirtiest, low-down, white trash. Loula Mae Fontaine: not even good enough to be considered white trash. According to the people in this small town, with their even smaller minds, my daddy was too dark to be with my white momma—or so I was told. Hell, for all I know, he could’ve been a dark-skinned Martian. I never even laid eyes on him or saw so much as a photo.
I fluff my hair and dab on a bit more lip-gloss.
Maybe I can pretend Lonnie is one of the guys from my unit, I’m fully dressed, and we’re all playing around, being ridiculous out by the fire pit. Just have to get my head on straight. I can do this. For Aunt Delores, I will do this.
The music thumps through my chest. I shake out my hands. Taking in one last clean breath before I have to defile myself on Lonnie Fisher’s fucking lap, I push through the curtains dividing the back hallway from the individual rooms reserved for lap dances and private parties.
Thank God the lights are low. Maybe I can get through this if I don’t see his fucking face.
I swish my way across the room to Lonnie. He waits in the chair, leaning back, all comfortable and relaxed. The exact opposite of me. I cross behind the chair, and run my hand along his shoulder.
That’s surprising; more muscle than I’d have thought. My fingers tip-toe down his arm as I move around to the front of the chair. I turn and put my ass to him, shaking it for all I’m worth. I have to get him to approve me so I can get on that stage and start making some money.
A large hand lands on my ass. I spin back, and smack him away. “No. No. No. No touching.”
I lean forward to give him an eyeful of my breasts as they almost spill out of the little bra trying to contain them. As my face comes close to his, my mistake almost knocks me over.
I trip. “You’re not Lonnie.”
“Fuck no, I’m not that douche. So glad you noticed.” Buck stands, pulling me into his arms.
I struggle against him. “Let go. What are you doing here?”
He walks me backward until I’m trapped between him and the wall. “I’m here to take you home.”
“The hell you are.” I try to struggle out of his arms, but he’s got brute strength on me.
So, I’ll just have to take him with the element of surprise. I tuck closer to the wall, pulling back before I lunge forward and head butt him. Pain flashes through my forehead.
He steps away as he covers his face, bending over. “Fuck, Lou!”
He straightens, pinching the bridge of his nose and slinging blood off his other hand.
One of Buck’s bodyguards leans into the room with a questioning look. Buck shoos him out with a wave of his free hand and a shake of his head.
“What is it with you, Buck? You do know I’m a grown woman now, not some little teenager you can make decisions for, right?”
“Make decisions?” His voice has a weird nasal quality, reminding me of when he got his nose broken all those years ago.
“Yes! You and your pretty face and steady voice, sounding all reasonable and shit.” I deepen my tone. “Climb this tree, Lou. Come with me, Lou. Move in with Delores, Lou. Go to college, Lou. Get over m—”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
I let out a short breath. “I’m a big girl now. I take care of myself. ”
“By getting naked for guys you don’t know?”
“Fuck you. We get an ass shot of you every time you climb out of some tramp’s bed on the big screen. You get naked for hundreds of thousands of people you don’t know.”
“That’s not the same.”
The urge to smack him runs to my fist. “No. I guess not. My naked ass doesn’t pay quite as much as yours does.”
He steeples his hands over his nose and jerks. The crack it makes as he adjusts his septum drives through me like a stake. I flinch.
“Is that all this is about? The money?”
If I roll my eyes any harder they’d fall out onto the floor. “Of course, it’s about the money. You think I want to take my clothes off for a bunch of sweaty guys and end up in their spank banks as their go-to every time they want to rub their Johnson and get their rocks off?”
He drops to sit in the chair, leaning his head back. “Why didn’t you just ask me? I have money—plenty of money.”
“I wouldn’t ask you for a thing. Your obligation to me is over. You made that clear when you left and never called.” I massage the ache between my eyes.
He tosses me a glance, his frown etching lines around his mouth. “How much do you think you’re gonna make working here?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just go, so I can actually make some money. I can’t do that in this room with you.”